A safety ski binding of this type is described generally in Austrian Patent No. 268 110. However, this known solution provides a support of the boot sole only during a safety release.
In a different known construction according to Austrian Patent No. 321 170 (see also U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,730), the tip of the ski boot sole is constantly supported in the clamped-in position of the ski boot on two rollers which are symmetrically arranged laterally with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the ski, wherein each of the lever arms has a still further roller, so that during a lateral safety release the ski boot sole moves always along a path which is formed by two rollers, namely an inner and an outer roller.
The above-listed and further known solutions have the disadvantage that the ski boot sole can be supported only along a line or (narrow) strip which extends in longitudinal direction of the individual rollers, when the axis of the individual rollers extends parallel with respect to the support area of the ski boot sole. Not only small inexactnesses in the vertical arrangement of the roller axes, but, and primarily the deformation of the ski boot sole can cause a support to occur through the formation of an acute angle between the ski boot and the roller.
In the case of a safety ski binding according to U.S. Pat. No. 3,095,209, which, however, belongs to a different class than the present binding, it is already known to use a pair of rollers, which is arranged rotatably about an axis which lies in the horizontal plane, for holding down the heel of the ski boot. For a better support of the ski boot heel, the pair of rollers is constructed utilizing two truncated balls, which together form an hourglasslike structure, wherein a bearing point for the axis of the rollers is arranged between the two truncated ball-shaped rollers. Since this known solution can be utilized effectively and with success only in the horizontal plane, it is not suited for the solution of a problem for the support of a ski boot sole in longitudinal direction of the ski.
To support a ski boot heel, it has also already been suggested according to U.S. Pat. No. 2,745,672 to provide the heel with an extension, the side of which remote from the ski boot is sloped and is loaded by a roller which is supported around an axis which is positioned also sloped with respect to the upper surface of the ski. Even if here too a balancing adjustment between the roller and the support element appears as being possible, then the arrangement between the support surface and the axis of the roller is substantially correspondingly parallel as in the solution according to the already considered state of the art. Therefore, a compensating of inexactnesses requires also in the case of this solution a special measure. The known arrangement is moreover more complicated than the already considered solution according to Austrian Patent No. 268 110.
A roller with a toothed outer side is already known for example from Austrain Patent No. 268 952.
Therefore, the purpose of the invention is to design a safety ski binding of the type mentioned above such that it does not have the listed disadvantages and in which resulting of the ski boot sole on the roller--in every clamped-in position of the ski boot--occurs as much as possible along the entire extent of a line.
The set purpose is inventively attained by each roller being pivotally supported through a limited range with respect to the associated axis, adjusting to the respectively created pressure of the sole, about said axis. In this manner, a secure resting on the support roller or on the support rollers is assured in each position of the ski boot and also independently of the wear on the ski boot sole. Furthermore, it is assured that the clamping force which acts in longitudinal direction of the ski is fully utilized.
A particularly preferable embodiment of the invention consists in the magnitude of swiveling of each roller being determined by an opening, which consists of two openings which are tapered inwardly from the two free ends of the roller, wherein the two openings--viewed in the longitudinal extent of the roller--transfer into one another approximately at the midlength part of the roller. This measure assures in the initial position a central support for the individual rollers, wherein differences in the clamping of the ski boot or wear on the ski boot sole and/or on the roller in both directions--by swiveling the individual rollers in or out--can be compensated. If several, for example two rollers are provided, it is possible to balance out the differences by swinging one roller out--and the other one at the same time in, or vice versa.
In a further development of this thought of the invention, it is provided that the transition between the two openings is formed by a flat rounded-off portion, formed on a radius which is large in relationship to the dimensions of the roller, preferably approximately 4 to 8 times the roller radius. This permits a particularly good centering of the individual rollers, without accepting limitations in the action of the balancing of the differences.